MAN JAILED FOR ATTEMPTING TO MEET 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL FOR SEX IN NORWICH
An individual who sent sexual messages to a 14-year-old girl and arranged a meeting at a Norwich hotel has been sentenced to prison.Alan Topham, 69 years old from Bradford Road, Riddlesden, West Yorkshire, engaged in sexual propositions directed at the girl, who was actually an undercover officer conducting an operation.
He reached out to her via Snapchat on 18 March 2025 using a temporary phone, claiming he was 55 and worked in the construction sector in West Yorkshire.
Their communication quickly became explicit, with Topham stating he liked girls capable of keeping secrets.
The explicit messaging persisted over several weeks, culminating in a plan to meet at a Norwich hotel for sexual activity on 7 April.
Police apprehended Topham at the hotel, where officers from the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Online Team detained him and took him to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for interrogation.
He faced charges including encouraging a girl to engage in sexual activity, plotting to commit a sexual offence against a minor, communicating sexually with a child, and attempting to meet a girl under 16 after grooming.
During court proceedings, Topham admitted guilt on three counts but denied attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming.
At Norwich Crown Court on 8 July 2025, he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
The court dismissed the charge he contested.
In interviews, Topham acknowledged that his purpose was wrong, expressing regret and self-disgust.
He confessed this was his first such offence, had no reasonable explanation or defence, and revealed that his arrest prevented him from completing the planned meeting.
He was placed on the sex offenders register for life and was issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
The judge highlighted that the seriousness of Topham’s conduct, characterised by careful planning, necessitated a custodial sentence given its gravity.
